Australia vs South Africa 1st One Day International
Where: WACA, Perth
When: Friday, 1:30pm AEDST
Coverage: Channel Nine
With the hit and giggle that is International T20 out of the way, the first true international contest of the Australian cricket summer kicks off on Friday afternoon with Australia taking on South Africa at the WACA in Perth.
These teams are two of the best in the world (ranked #2 and #3) and are the favourites for the World Cup next year (#1 ranked India don’t have the best away form). So this five-match series will be played with great intensity, as evident by the full-strength teams picked, as a true hit out for World Cup preparations.
The Aussie team looks super strong. The fact that Steve Smith has been left out after a great series against Pakistan proves the depth of batting at the moment. Was it the right decision? Time will tell, but Watson, Clarke and Bailey all need to show something this series. Haddin is also out of the first few games of the series to rest his shoulder injury, so Matthew Wade comes in and will bat as low as number eight.
Australia have made the right call in the bowling department as well going with an all-pace attack and Maxwell to change it up. Hazelwood is an interesting choice, while Coulter-Nile and Johnson add incredible depth to the batting with one of those to bat as low as number ten! They need to get 20 overs out of Maxwell/Watson/Marsh so that is where they are vulnerable. Finch or Clarke might steal an over or two as well to help.
The South African outfit is also super strong with the likes of Amla, de Villiers, du Plessis and de Kock forming a mighty top order with the dangerous Miller to provide some hitting power. Their one soft spot is that they are missing T20 captain JP Duminy with a knee injury so they will miss his consistency with the bat and handy off spin.
The Australians are warm favourites, but undeservingly so. Their form is solid, but before their series victory over Pakistan their previous successes are against England and the West Indies. How strong is that form really? South Africa are a dominant force and while the fast track will no doubt suit the Australian bowlers, I don’t think Steyn, Morkel or Philander will mind it either.
This game should be more of an even money bet. Australia certainly have the home ground advantage but once again the markets are favoured towards the Australians by biased local support. The value is undoubtedly with the visitors here. Even if the Aussies win the first match, this is still a sound bet, and it means we’ll get even greater value on South Africa for the rest of the series.
Verdict: Back South Africa to win at $2.30 at Ladbrokes
There are also a couple of good promotions about for the top run scorer markets. We’re happy to take the favourite David Warner at $4.00 at Ladbrokes with the promo outlined below. He’s our strike weapon, enjoys the pace and will be nice and fresh. Also think Glenn Maxwell offers some good value at $10 at Ladbrokes.
